Back to business

Today was my first class back teaching karate since I returned from Maastricht. It was nice to see my students and get back to doing something I love. We are busy preparing for their examination which is coming up at the end of next month and also we are preparing for a course to be taught next month by a Japanese instructor. So we are all looking forward to that. I meant to take some pictures today at the dojo just for fun but in my rush to get to training I forgot to bring my camera and so I have included some photos that I took when I was in Japan last year.

These photos were taken in Kyoto in March last year. We were there for business reasons and unfortunately did not get the opportunity to do any training and so we decided that we had to at least take some pictures of us doing karate while we were there. During a break in the conference that we were attending we headed off and found this nice location and did our little photo-shoot. In hindsight I am glad we took them so that now I can look back a year later and think about the time we spent there. I would like to go back there again but we will see what the future brings. I hope that Lailai and myself can go there together and explore the country further.

Last year two of my students got their black belts at the course we held with Sensei Kato (8th Dan). It was a very proud moment for me and I was so happy for them because I know that they put in so much hard work into preparing for their exam. I hope that the course this year goes as well as the course last year.

Recently a true master of karate passed away leaving a very big gap in the karate community. Tetsuhiko Asai's genius and creativity were inspiring and his technical ability was awesome. Even after his death his example continues to inspire everyone who came into contact with him and learned from him. The greatest tribute that can be paid to this karate legend is to keep his teachings alive and pass them on. As his wife Keiko Asai said in her funeral address: He recently left a note on his desk, saying: “My pleasure and hope from now on is only one thing, and that is to leave behind, for everybody, my skills and knowledge in Karate". I think that is all that any teacher can want from his students no matter what level they are at. To see your students take what you have taught them and carry it on is one of the greatest feelings that you can have. I hope that I have contributed to my own students' understanding of karate in some small measure and that they can use this to develop their own abilities further in the future.

After dropping me off at the airport poor Lailai had to return to Maastricht and go to work. I really hope that she gets a good rest soon. I am sure she needs it after putting up with me over the last ten days. I really miss her and hope to be back with her again soon. How she can suffer this Yang Gui Zi is beyond me but yet she continues to do it and for that I love her very much!

Enough rubbish from me for now!

Goodnight everybody!